MAIN Society Sex Same Sex Marriage

While abortion, gun control, and racial descrimination remain high on the list of topics still causing contentious public debate in the US, same-sex marriage has become a similar dividing line between progressive liberals and social conservatives in the 21st century.

So how did same-sex marriage become the new hot button issue?

1989 marked the first time ever that a national government granted rights similar to heterosexual couples, when Denmark extended property and inheritance rights for gays and lesbians under what was known as "registered partnerships."

Norway, Sweden, Iceland and several other EU nations followed shortly after with their own official recognition of same-sex marriages, or under similar arrangements such as domestic partnerships, civil partnerships or civil unions.

By 2001, The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage by giving same-sex couples the right to marry, divorce and adopt children.

This led the way to at least a dozen more countries granting same-sex couples full rights to marry under the law most notably in Canada, Spain, Belgium, Norway and South Africa.

Currently within their borders Israel and France, along with the state of New York, have lent a sympathetic ear with legal recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, but do not perform their own.

Officially, the U.S. government does not recognize any same-sex marriages due to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was enacted in 1996 under the Clinton administration banning federal recognition of gay couple unions, and permits state legislatures to do the same.

Today, a popular groundswell of support — along with fierce opposition to same-sex marriage — continues as political and legal wrangling often centers on parenting concerns, traditional religious teachings, and the preservation of the idea that marriage should be exclusively reserved as a union between a man and a woman.

While most Americans continue to oppose gay marriage, most say they would support civil unions or domestic partnerships — giving hope that changing attitudes may grow into to an eventual lifting of a federal ban on marriage for same-sex couples in the not too distant future.

More about same sex marriage on the Web:

Should Same Sex Marriage Be Legalized? - The arguments in a nutshell illustrated in opposing tables on the pros and cons, and further discussion on the reasons why or why not same sex marriage should be legalized, with related resources from BalancedPolitics.com.

Where is Gay Marriage Legal? - About.com guide on the legal aspects of same sex marriage including information on countries where same sex marriage is permitted, current US laws by state, and related feature stories on gay wedding planning and the gay lifestyle.

Gay Marriage - Pew Forum reports on public opinion trends on gay marriage and civil unions, including a breakdown of 17 major religious groups' views on gay marriage, and the US constitutional dimensions of the same-sex marriage debate.

FindLaw Legal News - Same Sex Marriage - Historical legal background and latest news on same sex marriage, information on the legal rights of gay or lesbian parents, with an extensive library of legal opinion pieces and commentary.

Same Sex Marriage, Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships - Overview with historical details and quotes, maps showing current state laws affecting gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, with related references and resources from ReligiousTolerance.org.

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